Xiao Lin grew up in the United States and China, valuing memories tied to specific places such as the family home’s kitchen. She earned a graduate degree in architecture from the University of Pennsylvania and traveled early in her career, learning that spaces become complete when occupants make them their own. In 2022 she founded STUDIO XIAO in East Hampton, specializing in residential and commercial projects. Her design approach emphasizes feeling before seeing, with structures that remain pure in form and responsive to natural surroundings. She defines a complete building as a compelling composition of mood, sound, and light, using favored materials. She also makes ceramics, appreciating the surprises of firing and glazing.
"“I remember the kitchen where meals were made and how everyone seemed to gather there, drawn by warmth as much as hunger,” she says."
"“Whether she was in Beijing or Amsterdam, she realized that even the most resonant spaces are never truly finished until the occupants make them their own.”"
"“As she develops a concept, she is guided by her belief that a building should be felt before it is seen.”"
"“The firing and glazing bring their own surprises, outcomes you never fully planned for,” she notes. “There is a looseness that architecture, with all its predetermined processes, rarely gives you.”"
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